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Ocean grids around Europe

Several European countries have a policy to encourage the development of renewable en-ergy sources. This is identified in e.g. the European green paper Energy strategy for a sus-tainable, competitive and secure energy supply (March 2006). In the transition towards a European sustainable energy system for the future and to reduce the dependency of im-ported primary energy sources such as oil and gas, the development of offshore wind power is an essential element. EWEA assumes that almost 120,000 MW offshore wind power will be realized in the next two decades, amounting to 10% of the installed generating capaicty. Apart from offshore wind energy other offshore renewable energy sources such as wave en-ergy, tidal energy and some experimental technologies of offshore energy have been con-sidered.

Recent blackouts within Europe have shown that there is a need for increased European co-ordination regarding the transmission of electricity including aspects related to interconnec-tions. In the EU technology platform Smart Grids , attention is paid to the networks of the fu-ture to ensure that they can accommodate and facilitate large amounts of renewable energy, both distributed and concentrated.

Following the European Smart Grids line of thinking, Airtricity has proposed a European off-shore super grid (HVDC based on Voltage Source Converter technology), combining the grid integration of offshore wind farms with an interconnection grid between countries at sea. One could extend the role of this grid and connect all “ocean power” to it. The supergrid could then be part of the European backbone to connect and transmit bulk renewable power from remote generation sites, even as far as North-Africa (Desertec).The goal of this paper is to discuss "Ocean Grids", grids at sea at a conceptual level. The idea behind Ocean Grids is to provide an offshore backbone for the mainland transmission networks on one hand, and connection points for offshore wind power stations on the other hand. This will include offshore wind energy and other potential energy sources at sea.

Several European countries have a policy to encourage the development of renewable en-ergy sources. This is identified in e.g. the European green paper Energy strategy for a sus-tainable, competitive and secure energy supply (March 2006). In the transition towards a European sustainable energy system for the future and to reduce the dependency of im-ported primary energy sources such as oil and gas, the development of offshore wind power is an essential element. EWEA assumes that almost 120,000 MW offshore wind power will be realized in the next two decades, amounting to 10% of the installed generating capaicty. Apart from offshore wind energy other offshore renewable energy sources such as wave en-ergy, tidal energy and some experimental technologies of offshore energy have been con-sidered.

Recent blackouts within Europe have shown that there is a need for increased European co-ordination regarding the transmission of electricity including aspects related to interconnec-tions. In the EU technology platform Smart Grids , attention is paid to the networks of the fu-ture to ensure that they can accommodate and facilitate large amounts of renewable energy, both distributed and concentrated.

Following the European Smart Grids line of thinking, Airtricity has proposed a European off-shore super grid (HVDC based on Voltage Source Converter technology), combining the grid integration of offshore wind farms with an interconnection grid between countries at sea. One could extend the role of this grid and connect all “ocean power” to it. The supergrid could then be part of the European backbone to connect and transmit bulk renewable power from remote generation sites, even as far as North-Africa (Desertec).The goal of this paper is to discuss "Ocean Grids", grids at sea at a conceptual level. The idea behind Ocean Grids is to provide an offshore backbone for the mainland transmission networks on one hand, and connection points for offshore wind power stations on the other hand. This will include offshore wind energy and other potential energy sources at sea.

Several European countries have a policy to encourage the development of renewableen-ergy sources. This is identified in e.g. the European green paper Energy strategy for asus-tainable, competitive and secure energy supply (March 2006). In the transitiontowards a European sustainable energy system for the future and to reduce thedependency of im-ported primary energy sources such as oil and gas, the developmentof offshore wind power is an essential element. EWEA assumes that almost 120,000 MWoffshore wind power will be realized in the next two decades, amounting to 10% of theinstalled generating capaicty. Apart from offshore wind energy other offshore renewableenergy sources such as wave energy, tidal energy and some experimental technologiesof offshore energy have been considered.Recent blackouts within Europe have shown that there is a need for increased Europeanco-ordination regarding the transmission of electricity including aspects related tointerconnections. In the EU technology platform Smart Grids

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, attention is paid to thenetworks of the future to ensure that they can accommodate and facilitate large amountsof renewable energy, both distributed and concentrated.Following the European Smart Grids line of thinking, Airtricity has proposed a Europeanoffshore super grid (HVDC based on Voltage Source Converter technology), combiningthe grid integration of offshore wind farms with an interconnection grid between countriesat sea. One could extend the role of this grid and connect all “ocean power” to it. Thesupergrid could then be part of the European backbone to connect and transmit bulkrenewable power from remote generation sites, even as far as North-Africa (Desertec).The goal of this paper is to discuss "Ocean Grids", grids at sea at a conceptual level. Theidea behind Ocean Grids is to provide an offshore backbone for the mainlandtransmission networks on one hand, and connection points for offshore wind powerstations on the other hand. This will include offshore wind energy and other potentialenergy sources at sea.

2. Renewable energy production trends

One of the reasons to explore offshore wind energy is the good wind resources (the windblows harder in the sea and ocean), and space restrictions on the mainland for windturbines. For this reason offshore wind power will be the most explored offshore sourcesof renewable energy. Second will be wave and tidal energy. Other sources could be so-called underwater turbines and the production of aquatic biomass at sea area to providebio-energy. New interconnections in the Mediterranean Sea – to transport electricitygenerated by solar-PV in Africa – and in the north-western European waters (sea andocean) to the hydro energy resources of Iceland, Greenland and the Scandinaviancountries provide application possibilities, though not less interesting for offshore (ocean)grids. —————————————————————————

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www.smartgrids.eu

Ocean Grids around Europe

3www.leonardo-energy.orgAt present large schemes for deployment of offshore wind are being developed in theNorth Sea region of UK, The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Besides these,offshore wind farms are planned in Ireland, Sweden, France and Belgium. From the WindEnergy study 2006 by the German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI) the total installedEuropean wind power in 2010 is expected to be around 75,000 MW and for 2014 around115,000 MW, this corresponds with the 2004 EWEA study “Wind-Energy the Facts”.More recently EWEA published their No Fuel campaign in which they aim at 300,000 GWin 2030 in which 50% should be realized offshore. The presently installed wind power inEurope is approximately 41 GW of which 0.5% is offshore capacity. The location ofoffshore wind can be both in shallow water (up to 50 meters) or, as the new Norwegian

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experience show, as floating windmills in ‘deep’ water, which makes it less dependent ofthe sea or ocean depth.Exploitation of small gas fields can perhaps be made profitable when electrical power isgenerated locally (up to a few hundreds of MW) and supplied into a sea grid (instead oftransporting the gas to the mainland). This is also possible for the existing almostexhausted (marginal) gas fields that are not connected anymore to the high pressure gaspipes.Offshore oil platforms could also be connected as an electrical load to such a grid,resulting in reduced emissions at sea, but also savings on investment for powergeneration on oil platforms and thus more space for their core business. ———————————————————————